Small subunit ribosomal DNA sequence shows Paracoccidioides brasiliensis closely related to Blastomyces dermatitidis.

ABSTRACT: The similarities of paracoccidioidomycosis and blastomycosis are highly suggestive of a close relation of the two etiological agents. Whereas the agent of the first disease is exclusively endemic in Latin America, the agent of the latter one is endemic in North America and Africa. In symptomatic travelers visiting both areas of endemicity, differentiation of the diseases might be impossible, even though therapy and prognosis for these two diseases differ significantly. In order to identify differences in the 18S rRNA gene (rDNA) for use as molecular diagnostic tools, we sequenced this gene from five isolates of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and compared them to known sequences of other fungi. Neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood analyses and, finally, the Kishino-Has

SUBMITTER: Bialek R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC87351 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature